Table 1.

Evolution of endocrine criteria

A. William Bayliss and Ernest H. Starling (1902)

1. The adequate stimulus produces the response after complete denervation of the hormone-producing tissue.

2. Intravenous injection of an extract of the hormone-producing tissue produces the response.

B. Edward A. Doisy (1936)

1. Identification of the tissue that produces a hormone.

2. Development of bioassay methods to identify the hormone.

3. Preparation of active extracts that can be purified, using the relevant bioassay.

4. Isolation, identification of structure, and synthesis of the hormone.

C. Morton I. Grossman (1973)

1. The adequate stimulus produces a response in a distant target.

2. The response persists after cutting all nerves connecting the site of stimulation and the target.

3. The response is produced by an extract of the hormone-producing tissue.

4. The effect is produced by infusing exogenous hormone in amounts and molecular forms that copy the increase in blood concentrations produced by the adequate stimulus for endogenous release.

See text for references and discussion.